title: Thalamocortical mechanisms for integrating musical tone and rhythm.
abstract: Studies over several decades have identified many of the neuronal substrates of music perception by pursuing pitch and rhythm perception separately. Here, we address the question of how these mechanisms interact, starting with the observation that the peripheral pathways of the so-called "Core" and "Matrix" thalamocortical system provide the anatomical bases for tone and rhythm channels. We then examine the hypothesis that these specialized inputs integrate acoustic content within rhythm context in auditory cortex using classical types of "driving" and "modulatory" mechanisms. This hypothesis provides a framework for deriving testable predictions about the early stages of music processing. Furthermore, because thalamocortical circuits are shared by speech and music processing, such a model provides concrete implications for how music experience contributes to the development of robust speech encoding mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Communication Sciences and Disorders, Montclair State University, 1515 Broad Street, Bldg. B, Bloomfield, NJ 07003, USA; Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA. Electronic address: musacchiag@mail.montclair.edu.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Musacchia
authors.affiliation: Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd., BS-12, Room 308, USA.
authors.forename: Edward W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Large
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neuroscience and Schizophrenia Program, Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, 140 Old Orangeburg Rd., Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 180 Ft. Washington Avenue, New York, NY 10032, USA. Electronic address: Cs2388@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Charles E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Schroeder
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D002415:Cats; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008251:Macaca; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009146:Music; D009474:Neurons; D009991:Oscillometry; D010898:Pitch Perception; D051381:Rats; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D013060:Speech; D013788:Thalamus / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors